Stone cold censored

China has banned four of the Rolling Stones' raunchiest numbers, including Let's Spend The Night Together, from being performed when they play Beijing next month.

Censors also refused permission for the ageing British rock band to play Brown Sugar, Honky Tonk Women and Beast of Burden, the South China Morning Post reported today.

The band had to submit its greatest hits album 40 Licks to official censors ahead of their first China concerts in Shanghai on April 1 and Beijing three days later.

Cindy Tai, managing director of EMI China, told the newspaper: "The songs were submitted to the Ministry of Culture for approval a few months ago. They simply said 'no' to those four songs. They didn't give a reason."